As the divorce rate in the United States remains steady at 50%, the last few decades have shown an increase in child custody disputes. Within these litigations, interparental conflict can reach high levels and incite behaviors that wreak havoc on the children who are caught in the middle. When considering custody arrangements, judges and other evaluators use the Best Interest of the Child Standard (BICS), a jurisdictionally-specific framework that examines several factors that contribute to a child’s health and well-being. Parents who allow their resentments to get the better of them sometimes engage in behavior that encourages their child to become alienated from the other parent, known as Parental Alienation (PA) —a form of psychological abuse that can result in emotional and behavioral consequences for the child. While some states investigate components relevant to PA during a BICS evaluation, none include criteria that directly addresses this construct. Therefore, to achieve the intended outcome of BICS, which is to create a custody arrangement that will best meet a child’s needs, recognizing and addressing the presence of PA within a family system is required.

Uppsatsens övergripande syfte är att undersöka om, och i så fall hur, unga vuxnas erfarenheter av separation och vårdnadstvist mellan föräldrarna under barndomen inverkat när det gäller inställning till samlevnadsfrågor. Mer konkret är avsikten att söka svar på frågor som beaktar principen om barnets bästa, attityder gentemot relationer, separationer och giftermål liksom dagens relation till föräldrarna. Tolkningsramen som användes för att tolka och förstå uppsatsens empiriska material baseras på de inledande bestämmelserna enligt 6 kap. föräldrabalken, några risker med socialarbetarens förhållningssätt, barnets känsla av ansvar, lojalitet och hemlighållande, barnets överlevnadsstrategier och kognitiv dissonansteori. Dessa tolkningsredskap var effektiva för att belysa unga vuxnas erfarenheter från barndomen och deras attityder till samlevnadsfrågor. En kvalitativ metodansats tillämpades för att inhämta det empiriska materialet och fem kvinnliga respondenter intervjuades med hjälp av en semistrukturerad intervjuguide. Uppsatsens slutsatser indikerar att principen om barnets bästa inte alltid beaktades för de unga vuxna under barndomen. Deras attityder gentemot relationer, separationer och giftermål präglas av en öppen inställning till olika familjekonstellationer med goda kvalitéer, positiva respektive negativa följder av föräldrarnas separation och uppfattningen om att vilja gifta sig i framtiden. Dagens relation till den ena föräldern har visat sig vara fortsatt god medan relationen till den andra föräldern varierar. / The purpose of the essay is to examine whether, and if so how, young adults' experiences of separation and contested custody between parents during childhood influenced their attitudes to coexistence issues. Further, the intention is to seek answers to questions regarding: the best interests of the child, attitudes towards relationships, separation and marriage, as well as the current relationship to the parents. The interpretative framework adopted to interpret and understand the empirical material is based on the initial provisions under chapter 6, some risks with the social workers' approach, the children's sense of responsibility, loyalty and concealment, the child’s survival strategies as well as cognitive dissonance theory.  These are considered effective to highlight young adults' experiences in childhood and their attitudes to coexistence issues. A qualitative method was applied to obtain the empirical material. Five female respondents were interviewed using a semi-structured interview guide. The essay’s findings indicate that the principle of the child’s best interests is not always applicable for the young adults during childhood. Their attitude towards relationships, separation and marriage is characterized by an open attitude to different family constellations with good qualities, positive and negative consequences of their parents' separation and a desire to get married in the future. The relationship today remains good with one parent, while the relationship with the other parent differs.